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Served Cold
Act 1 Rainy skies. Bright lights. Burning storms. These are what would make up the day for one lone individual, calmly walking down the packed community that composed the Kabuki District, the "town that never sleeps" as he had once heard it called. It was a stark contrast to the other parts of the Rukongai he'd been too, comparable to a noire era Boston instead of the slum-like makeup of the other districts. The rain was a nice touch as well, helping to illuminate the neon lights of the various restaurant and hotel signs that ran parallel to each other along his path. His hat blocked any rain from hitting his head, and his cloak covered the entirety of his body from the neck down, presumably to keep him warm, if he desired such a thing to begin with. His mouth was formed into that of a calm smile, a fairly long lit cigar stuck out of it's right corner and trailed smoke for a couple of feet behind him. Thanks to the weather and his attire, few people were able to get a good look at his face, much more of a blessing for them rather than himself in his mind; few could look upon his facial features without having a loud and annoying reaction, drawing unnecessary attention to him. He had to admit though, it was surprising that no one did notice his face considering the large crowd that he was having to navigate through, but perhaps they were so caught up in their own affairs or simply getting out of the storm to notice. "Please"... a voice whispered in his mind as he continued through the gradually diminishing crowd. "Bring to an end the horror..." it continued as he sighed, a trail of burning ash falling from the edge of his cigar. This lone voice turned into multiple as he went on, all of them echoing the same, if not similar words and requests towards him, all calling for the head of the same individual: Seireitou Kawahiru. Of all the people he'd been contracted to kill, Seireitou Kawahiru was the one that had been called for the most, and it was also the one that he'd put off more than any other contract before. Was he afraid of the legendary "Silver-Haired Demon's" power? Naturally. Even for one such as he, the thought of killing Seireitou seemed far too out of reach, too much work involved, if the task could be done at all. Eventually, however, Seireitou became the only person that people would ask for him to kill, and he had to do work to keep himself alive and breathing. "Imagine all those souls that you'd get in return..." he'd told himself prior to making this trip. "Imagine if-" His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a loud, metal banging noise, followed immediately by a feminine yelp of pain. He noticed that he had successfully traversed through the crowds and was standing next to an alleyway between two buildings. Within this alleyway, he could see a dumpster, and next to it, three male figures standing over a curled up half-naked woman. Two of them had their backs facing him, while the third was quickly straddling the helpless woman, like an animal descending on it's harmless kill. She'd been beaten, tossed around and into the side of the dumpster, and her clothing had been ripped right off of her and thrown to the side, leaving her fully exposed to the cold rain above and the filthy mud below. His smile turned into a frown as his cigar came close to nearly dimming out, watching the two men laugh and cheer the third one on as he flipped the girl onto her back and began to remove his pants, much to her tearful dismay. To see a young woman like that treated so mercilessly in such terrible conditions made him want to wretch. He didn't want to draw attention to himself, but he wasn't about to let a lady be handled by animals. He took his small but still lit cigar from his mouth and bit his bottom lip, fully exposing his top row of teeth. A loud whistle shot out from between the gaps of his buck-teeth, immediately catching the attention of the two standing men who had previously been facing away from him. Once the man on the right had fully turned to look at him, he flicked the still burning cigar straight towards the thug. The poor fool had left his mouth open just enough for the cigar to fly straight into it and hit his throat, burning it and sending the sour-tasting smoke down his jugular. Because of this, he wasn't able to scream in pain, only grasping his throat helplessly and staggering backwards and onto the ground, desperately clenching his neck as if to squeeze the foreign object out of his system. This obviously caught the attention of the other two men, both of them looking up to set their eyes on the newly arrived stranger, and so the latter now had clear shots. There was a flash of fire following the shock of the last move, originating from the small gap between the stranger's cloak, followed by a thunderous roar. These would register for the two men for only half a second, before the one assaulting the woman would feel a metallic object cut cleanly into his collar bone and explode out of his upper back. This caused him to yelp briefly in pain, his upper chest damaged too much for him to emit anything louder, before falling on his back and off of his object of desire. The other standing man, shocked and confused, began to run away from the stranger, hoping to get some distance between himself and the attacker. He wondered what sort of sorcery the stranger had used to so quickly take down his comrades, but he didn't get to ponder on it for too long, as he too would hear the thunder that had just incapacitated his partner. He didn't even have time to yell as a metal object that went straight into his lower spine and blew the lower portion of his stomach out, forcing him to collapse onto the wet ground just like his friend. All three of the men were still alive and breathing, but all were in sorry states. As the stranger moved closer, the woman carefully lifted herself up to where she was sitting and turned to see him approach. Naturally fearful, she began to back away from her would-be savior; for all she knew, he was here for the same reasons the three men were, and as she was still in her undergarments, it'd be far too easy. Her fears became worsened when the stranger continued to come near her, leaning down to pick up what looked like a knife-sized shard of glass; perhaps his intentions were worse than the other trio. She closed her eyes and tried to shield herself with her arms, curling her legs up like a ball. Precious seconds passed, but she felt nothing, only hearing the ruffling of clothes. When she opened her eyes, she saw that the stranger was handing her back her robes that were removed from her person earlier. He'd tried to wipe the chunks of mud off of them to the best of his ability. The stranger said nothing as he handed her the robes. In Human years, she could have been no more than twenty years old. Short black hair, bright blue eyes, and a fair figure, she was a natural target for predators in this town. It made him wonder what she'd been doing so recklessly wondering this side of town during a time like this, but it was irrelevant now. As she took the robes from him, he reached out and took her hand that previously reached out for her clothes, calmly pulling her to her feet. It was here that she was able to get a good look at his face, and initially it took her very aback. He was thin as a twig, his eyes appearing as glass orbs, his skin pale and dotted with crimson blotches and missing pieces of skin, almost like a horror movie monster. She didn't know how to react at first, but she did remember that this man had possibly just saved her life, so she said nothing. He then held up the glass shard that he'd picked up a few seconds ago and handed it to her carefully. "They're all yours." he said in a raspy, southern accent, before turning and walking away. She looked at the shard, before slowly turning to look down at the three defeated men, and smiled lowly. An hour or so later The rain had cleared up slightly since he'd left the town, and the stranger had finally found his destination: The Senjukuha. It was somewhat plainer than he'd expected, given how much he'd heard about Seireitou and his accomplishments prior, but this only helped his approach be more simple and less trouble filled. He approached the main doors and knocked on them with his right hand a couple of times before he spoke lowly, believing someone was behind the door. "I'm here for one Seireitou Kawahiru. I've got a few messages that are a few years late." It took a couple moments before any response to the robed man's knocking was made. A moment or so had past before the wooden gate creaked slightly and the figure of a long-haired male appeared at the entrance. His face was clearly etched with a lazy demeanor, almost like a person that had just gotten up on the wrong side of the bed. The white hair from which he was so easily recognized by draped over his shoulders and the bangs hung over his face as he glared at the person at the door. "Not interested." He answered rather rudely before stepping out and his entire person was visible, standing upright against the wooden gate as he stared toward him. "Say, you're quite the scary-looking bastard. Is it Halloween already? If you've come looking for candy, I ain't got any, sorry to say." The stranger simply smiled, his bare arm reaching out from within his cloak and his hand holding an unlit cigar, just like the one he had before. "I got my candy right here." he said, twirling the cigar in his fingers before casually biting down on it with his teeth. His other hand pulled out a small silver lighter, of which he used to ignite the cigar before sliding it back in his pocket. His pupil-absent eyes glared directly into Seireitou's orbs as he inhaled the cigar's fumes, it's burnt edge alight with a bright orange glow before it dissipated, and he exhaled a large wave of smoke from his nostrils. "Be completely honest with you, Mr. Kawahiru," he began, taking the cigar out of his mouth to speak clearly. "I wasn't expecting you to open the front door so brazenly. I understand this is your establishment n' all, but I figured you'd have guards or mercs standing watch." As he went on, he took a couple of steps backwards, his gaze shifting from Seireitou to overall outward appearance of the dojo. "I guess it don't matter much. Guards've never stopped me anyway..." "Guards?" Seireitou replied, almost like a child in confusion from being told something completely unbelievable. It was at that moment that his lazy facial expression slowly curled into a faint smile. There it was. The smile didn't mean anything really. It wasn't some attempt at intimidation nor did it convey some sense of pride in his standing. The visitor's words suggested that guards were necessary to protect this establishment from whatever threat he was believing himself to represent. And in that, Seireitou's reply was nothing but that basic plain smile. "This place needs nothing more than me." Letting out a faint sigh of air, his eyes widened up a bit from their narrow half-asleep shape into a more awake form, giving the visitor a more thorough and close look. "We're not an inn. Homeless you might look, but I ain't running no charity here. There is an inn east of here though, if you're looking for a place to crash or something. But then again... It seems you're familiar with me. Or at least familiar with my name... Enough that you're able to associate me with it. You looking to become a student here?" Inhaling his cigar once more, the stranger continued to smile, this time letting some of his teeth show as he let out a low and faint chuckle. "Believe me... I've learned plenty enough about you, Mr. Kawahiru." he started with a lower and more menacing tone, before taking his cigar out of his mouth and tossing it aside quickly, almost in a violent manner. Just as he did this, the wind began to rise, blowing his cloak in the same direction and exposing part of his concealed form. He wore nothing on his torso, save a couple of straps and bandoliers, exposing the pale and blotched skin that had made him so fearless. His pants were worn and brown, accompanied by a pair of cowboy boots. Sheathed on the sides of his belt that wrapped around his pants appeared to be part of a firearm, but it wouldn't be clear enough due to the rest of his cloak occasionally flying in front of it. "Seireitou Kawahiru. I come here on behalf of all the men, women, and children you so mercilessly wronged in your lifetime." The stranger's voice was now louder and more authoritative, and his eyes had a glint of red to them. "Those who you and your men raped and plundered from. Those who had all but one scrap of breath beaten out of them. Those who are left to wander this foul earth without a parent in sight. All of them have beckoned me here to confront you... and to demand justice." The stranger began to grin, all of his teeth showing as the wind continued to pick up in strength. "I am Vengeance incarnate, and it is here in this age that I will destroy you, and bring justice back for those who have pleaded for me to end your horrid existence." The man addressing himself as the incarnate of Vengeance earned a slight change in demeanor from Seireitou in response to his declaration. The smile that adorned his face slowly curled into a stoic expression. His presence was rather offputting, but it wasn't the most frightening sight that Seireitou had ever seen; far from it. However, it was clear that this individual was something different. The way he presented himself and the way he acted, Seireitou quickly would deduce that he was either some sort of fighter for justice, having somehow learned of his past moral crimes and wishing to bring about justice upon the wicked, or he was a fighter for hire — in other words, a bounty hunter. "I'm not quite sure where you've heard such stories about me, but I won't deny that I've done some pretty crazy shit in the past." With a slow sigh, he relieved a breath outwards before glaring back at the man. "I've killed. Violated people. Mutilated them. Manipulated them. Tortured them. Often times, I'd just shrug it off, and while it might have bothered me every now and again, I rarely lost sleep over what I did. I could just say it was all for the sake of a greater good... That I performed smaller acts of evil to usher in a greater sense of peace. Lesser of two evils. Whatever shit those philosophers spout about this stuff. But I did what I did because I wanted to. Because I was angry. Because I was bored. Because I wanted revenge. Because it made me laugh. Because... It felt right." he explained, before crossing his arms against his chest. "I have no intention of being killed to pay for those crimes. With life, there's possibility. There's more good that can be done alive than being killed to pay back a life debt." he answered. "...But you're not really here for justice, isn't that right, Vengeance incarnate-san?" Seireitou continued, grinning now to match the grin his visitor presented. Vengeance just smirked a little wider than before. "To be quite honest with you..." he started, the wind now starting to die down. "I don't think there is any good that can come from your sorry ass." Within the blink of an eye, Vengeance whipped out his two colt revolvers, not bothering to hold them up to Seireitou's height, and instead firing them immediately from his hip after drawing them. The clapping sound of thunder strikes and twin bursts of flame would erupt from their barrels, the bullets flying straight for Seireitou's hip bones. Just as he had fired those two bullets, he spun the pistols in his hands one time as he brought his arms back up to take aim directly at Seireitou's chest and fired two more bullets straight for him. He wanted to take Seireitou by surprise with these attacks, but something told him that such tactics wouldn't work against a foe like this. "Ah hell..." he thought with a grin. "...not like I've got much to lose anyway..." It was a bit of a surprise to encounter an enemy who utilized classic firearms like Vengeance, but even so, Seireitou was a seasoned warrior and being caught off guard was something quite rare for him. He did not need to wait for the actual motion, nor the sound of the bullets firing — not even the subtle spike in pressure when Vengeance went on the attack — but he could quickly pick up on Vengeance's intentions. That was a staple of martial arts mastery; more specifically, the discipline of . Once the intent to attack was telegraphed to Seireitou, a sudden spin of the body occurred as he shifted his body toward the left side. Placing his right foot down and completing the spin, getting out of range of the perceived path of the bullets, Seireitou held up both of his hands, with the palms overturned and the middle finger of both hands being held down by his thumbs. Giving off a slight grin, he both of his middle fingers outwards, the built-up force was unleashed as a shockwave that tunneled toward two specific targets. The right hand's target was to strike one of the bullets and alter the course of their path to an extent that would hopefully collide with another bullet and also send that one off. In the off-chance that those bullets were to explode upon impact, Seireitou wanted to ensure that he could push them off as far as he felt necessary. However, this was also a ploy to see, from a safe distance, the force concealed in those guns. The left hand's finger flick, on the other hand, sent a shockwave flying straight for where Vengeance stood. The speed at which it traveled was rippling, perhaps even matching the speed of the bullets he had fired before, with the full intent to pierce through Vengeance's chest if it were to land. In that split moment, following the shift in position and the subsequent twin finger flicks, Seireitou pushed off the ground and backed up a couple meters away from his original position, if only to garner enough distance to assess what would come next. Because of Seireitou's speed, Vengeance had to change the direction of his second pair of salvos, or at least he attempted to. Seireitou's speed far outmatched that of his own, and when he saw that such speed was able to outright manipulate the trajectory of moving bullets, he knew that he wasn't going to make it out of this particular bout. As Seireitou avoided the first pair of bullets, Vengeance swung his right gun towards Seireitou's intended direction and pulled the trigger. Such was the nature of his signature "Gun Fu", of which relied almost entirely on predicting an opponent's intended direction whilst at close range. This is why his strategy relies on keeping both of his guns at level with each other, so that either one can move towards their target with equal speed. While the bullet left the chamber successfully and hurdled towards it's target's cranium however, Seireitou had already flicked his right finger towards the bounty hunter and created an immense and precise wave of force that slammed straight into his chest. His boots dug deep into the ground as they skidded backwards into the dirt road that had led him here to begin with. Further inspection would reveal that the shockwave had not actually made full contact with Vengeance's body. There was a small and barely visible force that separated Vengeance's torso from the wave; his trusty field barrier projected from his long and tattered cloak that was of equally arcane forces as Vengeance was himself. It was several feet away that Vengeance had finally stopped skidding and, cracking a large grin just as before, his pupil-less eyes shot back up at Seireitou and locked onto him, before his arms brought his firearms up and began unleashing a hail of bullets in all forward directions towards his target, hoping to lock him out of options regarding a forward assault. Given that his opponent was a gunslinger, the obvious assumption was that he was going to engage in a fierce shootout; either with the intention of overwhelming Seireitou with the barrage of bullets or to draw him into a favorable position in which Vengeance would be able to deliver a precise final blow. Seireitou was to have none of that. Rather that dodge a second time, he stood his ground and stared at the incoming bullets head-on. Picking his right hand up, he curled it into a fist and started to make a couple rapid thrusts toward Vengeance. They were mere jabs, but to the Hakuda Grandmaster, these jabs were so strong, they produced a frightening shockwave of force each time he thrust his fist out. The multiple bursts of force collided with the bullets, causing explosion after explosion as more and more dust and debris built up between the two combatants as a result. "I hope you make this a little fun, Bounty Hunter-san. I haven't had a good match in a while." he called out from the other side of the smoke surrounding the distance between them. Seireitou was not simply using this moment to fend off the bullets but he also utilized this chance to get a feel of the timing of Vengeance's chambers. No matter how fast his movements were, the tool he was using could only fire the bullets from the chambers at a certain speed. At least that's what it seemed. Seireitou continued to strike at the bullets with a jab the more Vengeance fired them, waiting for that brief window between all of the bullets being destroyed and the next bullet that Vengeance would fire. That single instant would be a moment in which there were no bullets standing between the two of them. Once Seireitou determined that moment to have arrived, he quickly changed his strategy. Firing off the last jab, he spun his body around and swung the back of his left fist in an arc, unleashing a wave of force that followed the arc of the backfist, instantaneously clearing the field of the smoke and allowed both combatants to visibly see each other again, clear as day. But that wasn't the only move. Using the momentum of that turn for the spinning backfist, Seireitou thrust his other fist out for another jab; the shockwave that erupted forth from this jab had a clear target, Vengeance himself, all within the window of opportunity before the next bullet would be fired in accordance with Seireitou's assumption on the timing. In Vengeance's mind, it was like a classic shootout, only with metal meeting projected force as opposed to cloth and flesh. He was loving it so far; the chance to fight a worthy opponent had been so far lost on him, he'd forgotten what it felt like to have to fire multiple bullets in order to defeat an enemy. Even though he was fully expecting to die here within the next few minutes, he intended to make the best of it. The smoke and debris that was building up from Seireitou's counter-actions was beginning to reach a head when Vengeance saw a potential opportunity to take his opponent by surprise. While his left gun fired another standard bullet into the smoke, his right thumb cocked the hammer of it's respective gun, a first for this fight, surprisingly. His eyes had a brief streak of white cross them before he pulled the trigger of his right firearm. The sound from this shot was sharper and a bit more noticeable than the previous ones, the bullet trailing a slight bead of white energy as it cut through the dust cloud. It was at this point that Seireitou had unleashed his first wave of concussive force, of which collided with Vengeance's new bullet form. The bullet in question, upon meeting the slightest hint of opposition, detonated into a burst of blinding white energy, and from this "flashbang" emerged a spear of white energy that continued the bullet's intended path. With just as much speed as the bullet that spawned it, the lance hoped to cut through any more sort of shockwaves or spiritual defenses that Seireitou might have erected around himself, and give Vengeance another opening. Regardless of whether it did or not, Vengeance fired another slew of standardized bullets towards Seireitou once more, having finally caught a potential opening in his defenses. Even while on the offense, Seireitou's senses remained sharpened and active. He hadn't reached this level of skill and defeated the opponents in the past by being careless, even if the opponent before him wasn't somebody he had devoted himself toward defeating. If anything, he wanted to understand just who this fellow was, if only a little bit. His was the first to pick up on something strange about the bullet that Vengeance had just fired. Before his eyes even registered the white streak of light, his spiritual sense immediately recognized the bullet as something different. His theory was confirmed once the bullet erupted and a lance of white spiritual force came barreling toward him. There wasn't enough time to consider the danger level of that lance nor whether or not it held any secretive aspects to it. The only option was to prevent it from getting too close. Sliding his right foot back, his left fist thrust forward; it was the same principle as a martial artist who would step forward first and reel his fist back before punching, but the method was different. This was a more advantageous method to produce the same force as the real punch of a martial artist. The fist thrust forward once more, but this punch was a realm beyond the jabs Seireitou performed earlier. This punch was carried out with the body rather than the muscles of his arm. A normal martial artist would simply create a punch three or four times stronger than their jab. But if Seireitou's jab was enough to create powerful shockwaves, then his true punch could...? The air hadn't burst outwards, but it had literally cracked. Streaks of blue light began to fade into the space between Seireitou and Vengeance, almost as if the air was glass and it had been shattered. The space between them had been cracked, causing a disturbance that essentially froze everything within that space as if it were stuck onto a spider's web. The disturbance would ideally be enough to not only stop that lance in its tracks but hopefully cause it to detonate a safe distance away from Seireitou, which should've also had the additional effect of stopping the succeeding barrage of bullets that followed, but the silver-haired master wasn't going to wait around to find out. With a powerful kickoff, Seireitou launched himself into the air, and began another rapid series of jabs downward in Vengeance's direction. He wasn't going to give the gunslinger a chance to begin another medley of gunshots, though on the chance that Vengeance managed to anticipate this move, Seireitou made sure to pick up the speed of his jabs. Not only that, but he actually altered their speed mid-punch, every three or so jabs, in order to throw off Vengeance's sense of timing. Seeing that his lance had failed to reach it's target, and that his ensuing barrage of bullets had been halted, Vengeance decided that now was the best time to start moving. Wind began to heavily build up under the soles of his boots, before he started to "ski" across the ground at an incredible speed. Dirt and grass were uplifted as he began to move in a circular direction towards his right-facing side, and at that moment Seireitou had started his counter-attack. Bursts of force slammed into the ground around and before Vengeance's feet, causing him to have to dodge and evade in a chaotic manner as grand upheavals of dirt were blasted into the air around him. It was at this point that Vengeance had to break the verbal silence between them, smirking as he did so. "Why're you so deadset on fighting me from that far away?" he yelled out towards his white-haired opponent as he continued to bob and weave through Seireitou's onslaught. "I'm the one with the guns here; fighting from afar is my job. Aren't you the legendary Hakuda Grandmaster? Why're you tryin' to keep such a big distance...?" Just as he finished, one of the bursts caught his left ankle, catching him by surprise and forcing him to lose his balance. As he tripped and tumbled for several feet, his boots slammed into the ground and forced him to skid for just a little bit more before he finally managed to stop. Not wanting to give his opponent a second to react, he twisted his body to face Seireitou's direction, and his two guns took aim at said foe. He then fired two bullets from their smoking barrels, but these projectiles would be unlike any that he had fired previously. The bullets were only a meter out of the guns before they both erupted into bright flashes. Emerging from the two flashes was not two bullets as before, but dozens, each smaller than the regular bullet, but easily capable of reaping the same amount of damage. If one had the reaction timing and sense to count them, there must now have been up to a hundred or so bullets now flying towards Seireitou. With such a large quantity of bullets all heading for his target at once, Vengeance hoped that Seireitou wouldn't be able to counter all of them. He wasn't going to stop there, just in case Seireitou did. Wind collected underneath his boots before springing him into the air up on Seireitou's level and fired two more bullets upon him. One bullet contained the same white lance of energy as before, in the contingency that Seireitou erect some sort of defense against his attacks, but to also clear the way for the second bullet. The second bullet was a special sort of ammunition known as "White Crawl", which was used to primarily weaken his target to a great degree and cut them off from harnessing their Reiatsu. Doing this, in Vengeance's mind, would hopefully make it easier to pierce Seireitou's defenses. As he fired the bullets, he felt the need to add onto his comment from before. "...are you that afraid of me, White-Haired Devil?" Even while mid-air, the act of moving in a suspended state such as this did not require much effort from one trained in martial arts. A simple spin of the hips generated some momentum as he struck hard at the air in front of him, his kick moving at such a speed and carrying such force hurtling through the air that it collided with air pressure and served as a makeshift launch point; as if he were on solid land. It would serve as a sufficient method of dodging even the multitude of shrapnels coming for him, but even as he reached the ground once more, two more significantly powerful bullets came hurtling toward him. "You're kind of a greenhorn when it comes to provocation, bounty hunter-san. Afraid? The only thing I'm afraid of..." he responded. Almost suddenly, the silver-haired man's tactics had changed. Rather than once more attempting to dodge and strike from afar as he had been doing, Seireitou charged forward at a blinding speed, almost as if his intention was to run right into the path of the bullets. Fifteen meters. Ten meters. Five meters... As he closed in, the entire exchange took less than a mere instant. It was like a blur was imposed onto his being as Seireitou spun his body around in a full turn, his figure was unrecognizable in this instantaneous moment. His hands were stretched out and hovered underneath where both the lance and second bullet respectively were currently located in mid-air; nearby but never coming into direct contact. As he turned, it was as if both projectiles were drawn into the motion of the silver-haired master and followed his movements for that brief moment. This was the principle of . To Seireitou, these projectiles were no different than the fists of a warrior or the spells of a mage, and similarly, they too could be redirected. Now that he understood, based upon the first lance of energy fired by Vengance previously, that this bounty hunter's bullets carried Kidō-like properties, he would be capable of performing a redirection via Aiki. Spinning around, the lance and succeeding bullet followed the motion of his hands and went flying off in a different direction once Seireitou pulled his hands back. Their new target? Vengeance himself. Both the lance and White Crawl bullet went flying for Vengeance, but Seireitou wasn't about to wait for them to make contact. Given the bounty hunter's own impressive speed and timing, the silver-haired master believed that he could still dodge his own redirected attacks. So rather than wait for them, Seireitou momentarily allowed the projectiles to get closer and closer to Vengeance after throwing them back at him before firing off a shockwave via one of his punches, hoping for it to collide and cause a tremendous explosion that would ideally swallow up even the bounty hunter in its wake. In this way, even if Vengeance saw them coming and already began to move out of the way, Seireitou theorized that the explosion caused by causing the projectiles to erupt prematurely would still inflict some damage onto the bounty hunter. "The only thing I'm afraid of... is letting these fists get too close. I'm starting to have fun, and it'd be a shame if you died so early on." he answered with a subtle grin; he was indeed starting to enjoy himself in this battle. Though he had a positive belief that his maneuver accomplished something, Seireitou remained on guard and kept his senses focused. As one would expect, Vengeance appeared to have been encompassed by the orange orb produced from Seireitou's coordinated attacks. The thunderous roar of the blast caused the earth around them to quake, even whilst being in the air. Seconds would pass before a pulsation would erupt from the slowly dying flames, a burst of wind that twisted and turned in the skies before manifesting in the cloaked form of Vengeance. He landed on the very top of one of the trees that was near the area, his cloak unfurled to reveal that he had indeed been burned by the combined assault. His torso and his arms both were now a sick maroon shade of color, covered in scars. His eyes were now glowing red, and his grin had never been wider as he held both arms out to his sides. "There's nothing to be afraid of here, White-Haired Devil." he said aloud towards his opponent. "In a battle between two warriors, there is no excuse in holding back. You hold all of the power in the world, and could swat me out of the sky in a heartbeat. Go on, hit me with this thing that you fear so bad. I'll give you one free shot." Seireitou's eyes would briefly widen, almost as if he were captivated by the words that Vengeance spoke. "A battle between warriors." "No excuse in holding back." "Hit me." This was no fight between a bounty hunter and its prey, but between two warriors putting their lives on the line to conquer the other. His normally lazy look was overtaken by the shine of a face displaying primal desire. "I'll give you..." "...a free shot." If anything, it was something about Vengeance's arrogance that lit a fire under Seireitou. This bounty hunter was clearly intelligent; skilled and powerful in his own right. Surely he could understand that he was outmatched in the long run. So why was he so confident? Why had his nerve never been shaken this entire time? Seireitou's curiosity was definitely piqued. And even if it meant killing this bounty hunter, he would sate his desire for inquiry. No more nameless strikes. Seireitou would now test how Vengeance would fare against a more... specialized technique. What he had in mind was a technique that may have appeared to be a simple punch to most onlookers, but a danger was hidden in this particular move, for its target reached far beyond the limits of the physical realm. As expected by a martial arts master, the movement was both spontaneous and swift, like the clap of thunder itself. Before even the dust could settle, the leaves on the trees could touch ground, or even the sight of Seireitou was even registered, the silver-haired male appeared mere centimeters away from Vengeance. He wasn't moving with the intent to overwhelm Vengeance with speed, but rather, it was the cover of that enabled Seireitou to make a 'trackless step' that would provide him with enough to cover the distance without alarming his opponent as to his advance. Rather, just as Seireitou shifted back into being and appeared before Vengeance, his fist had already begun making its rapid thrust forward; aiming straight for Vengeance's willingly open chest. One word resounded in Seireitou's mind as he proceeded forth with his strike. "Ikkotsu." When Seireitou's fist made contact with Vengeance's chest, it would feel like he were splitting the branch of a tree. Time slowed down for both of them as Vengeance's glowing red orbs peered directly into those of his silver-haired opponent, a hissing sound escaping the narrow gaps of his teeth. "Heh... this is it my friend..." he spoke as the fist of his foe began to grind into the skin of his torso. The whole world around them would briefly appear to be blood red, and the sky a haunting grey. Both Seireitou and Vengeance's body would appear to be blood red in coloration as well, the latter's eyes now turning a solid white as he continued speaking. "This is where the real fight begins..." Once he finished, the world would revert to it's previous state, and a pained grunt would erupt from Vengeance's mouth. The bones in his back could be heard snapping as he was sent flying back from Seireitou's strike, his body falling apart as it practically retreated from Seireitou and into the distant forest beyond. Not a trace of him seemed to remain, except for very low and whisper-like chuckles that would resonate inside of Seireitou's mind, chuckles that would sound almost exactly like Seireitou. They would last for only a few seconds before disappearing, much like Vengeance himself had just done. The silver-haired man's eyes remained stoic as they glared onto the fading presence of the bounty hunter. In truth, taking the Ikkotsu head on from a Hakuda Grandmaster would definitely constitute death and the result of this exchange did not impose any surprise upon Seireitou. As the last of Vengeance disappeared, Seireitou stood up right with his arms down by his side, contemplating the situation. Of course, there really wasn't much to consider at this point. He normally boasted restraint from murder but Vengeance fought a battle with his soul on the line, and a fellow warrior such as Seireitou could never ignore the call. Vengeance was not the first who came after the silver-haired master's life and he certainly wasn't going to be the last. If anything, this bounty hunter was a drop in the ocean of those with an intent to kill the Shiroyasha, and this battle signified nothing. At least, that's how it seemed at first. Act II In the days that followed the match, Seireitou had decided to make one of his many pilgrimages toward the Seireitei, leaving the students and fellow residents back in the training hall. It was normally a long trip, as he was coming from the outer districts toward the center. And he was taking his time as well, taking in the scenery of the districts between his home and the home of the Shinigami. He would eventually find himself in the twentieth district; a simple place that was prized for its hot springs and beautiful cherry blossoms. Seireitou had a penchant for having sake under the shade of such a tree, and so he did, taking a seat at the helm of the tree as he let out a long sigh. "...I forgot the damn sake, didn't I?" "For my sake... I hope that's the only thing you forgot." As the trees would bristle and weave calmly with the flow of the wind, Seireitou would naturally find that he was not alone. The sound of leaves shuffling about in their branches would be muted out by the sound of footsteps and the rattles of chains and metal. A black figure calmly walking through the trees directly within Seireitou's line of sight. Emerging from the trees would be the completely cloaked and seemingly unharmed visage of Vengeance, the bounty hunter that had been slain from their earlier skirmish. A lit cigar in his mouth, a grin on his face, Vengeance calmly stared at his old foe as his cloak drifted in the wind, halting his march towards Seireitou a couple of meters away from him. "Don't worry... I gotcha covered." he said, pulling out two tan-colored bottles of Sake. As he had been to Seireitou's Dojo once already, one could assume that Vengeance had broken in and stole the bottles, or perhaps he'd purchased them honestly on his way to greet his old enemy. Pulling the cap off of one bottle, Vengeance tossed the other one to Seireitou before removing his cigar from his mouth and chugging the bottle that he'd just opened. When he finished, he let out a sigh of satisfaction, looking at the bottle and then back at Seireitou. "This is some pretty strong shit, no?" Suffice to say, Seireitou was silent as he witnessed the individual entering the area within his vicinity. It was like seeing a ghost of the past, the murmurs of an ancient enemy that inspired a sense of dread within the perceiving witness. Although his hand instinctively went up to grab the bottle, the silver-haired man was stunned silent as he watched this man guzzle down his bottle of sake. Perhaps it was fear that overtook him or a terror from the depths of his memory that sprung forth... "...Oi, you're stepping on some dog shit. Don't worry, I didn't notice it at first either." he remarked, pointing toward him with his free hand and gesturing toward his right foot. A wry smirk cracked across the bounty hunter's face, his eyes narrowing at the silver-haired warrior. "What's wrong ole' devil...?" he said, the wind behind him lightly picking up and billowing his cape forward towards his adversary. He could see that twinkle in Seireitou's eyes, the twinkle that signified either fear or apprehension, one that he would take advantage of regardless. "...you look like you've seen a ghost."